Mundie Moms

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Holly Black's LILA ZACHAROV in 13 PIECES!
























Holly Black has recently tweeted and created an awesome NEW story from Lila Zachoarov's point of view. If you've not yet picked up White Cat, be warned there may be spoilers. Go here and read LILA ZACHAROV in 13 PIECES!, which is written in vignettes and can read in any order. I agree with Chrissy from S&S, Holly is brilliant!

Don't forget, Red Glove will be on out April 5th! Yep the same day as CoFA! We can't wait to celebrate both releases! Until then, enjoy both White Cat and 13 Pieces.

Be sure to catch Holly Black and Cassie together on tour starting in April!

May CoFA Signing at Books Of Wonder!

Cassie has announced another date for her CoFA tour!! We're so excited, although we wish we were closer to some of the signings. It's a little tempting to want to attend this one-

Books of Wonder
Tuesday May 3rd @ 6pm
18 West 18th St
NYC

You can find out more information about Cassie's release party in San Diego and all her other stops, including those with Holly Black (YAY) at Cassie's site here.

Book Review- Between Shades of Gray


Published by Penguin
To Be Released on March 22nd, 2011
Source- ARC from publisher for review
5 stars- Everyone Needs To Read This


Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.



Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously-and at great risk-documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart. (quoted from Penguin's site).


I've struggled with writing my review for this remarkable, powerful, moving book. How do I put into words my thoughts and feelings over reading a story that brings to light something that really happened? Ruta Sepetys gives a voice to something that never should have been allowed to happen, and yet it's apart of our world's history, but something rarely taught. Between Shades of Gray is one of the most empowering books that I've ever read.



In the rein of Stalin's terror it's estimated he killed over 20 million people, with the states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia losing more than a third of their population. How could something like this happen? Honestly, I do not understand how Hilter's horrors have been told, but never Stalin's. I can't imagine how emotional it must have been for Ruta to research and give a voice to the story. Ruta's words for Between Shades of Gray are beautiful, moving and will stay with me for a long time to come.

This story carries a message of love, hope and belief! It made me think, it made me cry and it's moved me in away I never thought possible. I know that many of the characters are fictional, but the story itself it not and it's one I am grateful to have read. I was shocked to learn that those who survived this hell were forced to keep this a secret! I can't imagine! This story needed a voice and it's one I want to share with everyone.


Lina's story isn't one that's just emotional, as I mentioned above it's empowering to know that no matter what they had to endure, their love, hope and beliefs did not waiver. One of the most powerful lines came from Lina's mother when she told her, "A wrong doing doesn't give us the right to do wrong." It wasn't hard for me to understand Lina's feelings and feel her emotion, but her mother is the one that left the biggest impression on me. She is the essence of love and hope and never giving up. I would hope that I could have a fraction of her strength.


I would hope that this is a book that everyone reads. It's not necessary a heavy read, as Ruta has a way of brining her story to life through a teenage girl, Lina, making it part a coming of age story. It's a courageous to tell and I am at a loss for words. To say I'm grateful that Ruta brought this story to life sounds wrong, as unthinkable things happened to millions of people. I'm grateful Ruta gave the story a voice, and that I have had the chance to read this remarkable story. I have a profound feeling of gratitude after reading it. I hope that Between Shades of Gray doesn't just make it into personal libraries, but also schools and history classes. This story has been told and now it just needs to be heard.


Don't miss our interview with Ruta and our Between Shades of Gray giveaway here.

Thoughtful Thursday- Japan

It's not hard to spend hours reading up on the most recent reports of how relief efforts are going or watching the videos and looking at the pictures from the 9.0 (which was recently upgraded from a 8.9) earthquake and the massive tsunami that struck Japan last week. It's unimaginable seeing all the destruction and the the utterly shocking loss of life as villages have been wiped off the map.

There's a huge relief efforts happening world wide and I wanted to take a moment to spotlight some of these organizations. I've included the links that go directly to each site's donations link. If you know of other organizations not listed, please feel free to list them in the comments.







Other sites include-

Authors who are helping-

You can read a great site here on The Huffington Post about other organizations who are helping in the aid to send relief to Japan.

We know there's been a lot of recent natural disasters that have caused havoc, claimed lives and caused a lot of destruction world wide. We are mindful to them and many of the organizations above are taking donations for relief efforts for those countries as well. We are keeping those who have been effected world wide in our thoughts and prayers.

The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour



We've got some exciting news, The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour has added 3 new days!

MINNEAPOLIS
Thursday, March 17, 7:00 PM
Dark Days of Winter event w/ Claudia Gray, Kimberly Derting, Leah Clifford and Courtney Allison Moulton
Barnes & Noble, 2100 North Snelling Avenue, Roseville, MN, 55113

CHICAGO
Friday, March 18, 7:00 PM
Dark Days of Winter event w/ Kimberly Derting, Claudia Gray, Ellen Schreiber and Courtney Allison Moulton
Anderson's Bookshop, 123 West Jefferson Ave, Naperville, IL

MIAMI
Saturday March 19, 7:00 PM
Dark Days of Winter event w/ Clauida Gray, Kimberly Derting and Courtney Allison Moulton
Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL

If you're in these areas, be sure to stop by and visit your favorite authors. You can learn more about the tour here.

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